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builttospill
Feb 11, 2004, 11:14 PM
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Hey, I’ve got a question about climbing in your area. I’m considering transferring from my current school this fall, but I’m not sure where I’m headed yet. Some of the deciding factors (although relatively minor ones) are how close rock climbing is to campus, how close there is a rock gym (if there is no real rock nearby), how close mountains are, how high these mountains are, how interesting the routes up the mountains are (since I’m an aspiring mountaineer more than a sport climber), etc. So if you know anything about the schools listed at the bottom, please answer these questions when you get a chance (please bear with me, the list is very long…..I am attempting to narrow it down at the moment):
1.How close are the nearest mountains, and how high are they? Are there any classics in the near vicinity?
2.What is the closest rock climbing area to campus?
3.If there are no nearby rock climbing areas (within an hour’s drive or so), what is the nearest rock gym to campus?
4.Is there any ice-climbing in the area?
Non-rock climbing related questions:
1.What is the nearest ski resort to campus?
2.Are there any whitewater rivers nearby (as I’m also into kayaking)? How far from campus are we talking?
Thanks for your help. If you are particularly knowledgeable about one of the schools listed or the cities that they are in, let me know, since I have some other questions. I didn’t feel like posting them all, because most had nothing to do with rock climbing, and this is a rock climbing forum. Thanks A LOT.
Colorado College
U of Arizona
Arizona State U
U Colorado Boulder
University of New Mexico-Santa Fe
Thanks again
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helmut
Feb 17, 2004, 12:08 AM
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I can speak somewhat on CU Boulder
1. RMNP/Indian Peaks are about 30 minutes to an hour drive or so away with many classic routes range from about 12,000 - 14,000 feet with average vertical gain around the 3,000-4,000 foot range. Classics of all disciplines abound in the park but particularly shine in the alpine rock arena.
2. The flatirons are practically on campus, long easy slab climbs on the east side, to some more wild stuff on the west side. Bouldering oppotunities are plentiful in this area as well. If you extend to a 30 minute drive you have boulder canyon granite, eldorado sandstone cemented with audralia feldspar, clear creek schist and gneiss, and the baslat of north table mountain. Several lifetimes of climbing opportunities all easily accessible.
3. A few climbing gyms in the area
4. Ice climbing is around but somewhat limited and getting pretty crowded from what I hear but I don't ice climb.
Nearest ski resort is Eldora which is like 30 minutes away and kind of small, Vail, Breckenridge, Winter Park, Arapahoe Basin, and Copper are about 1-2 to 5-8 hours away depending on traffic and weather.
Kayaking I don't know much about but have seen people doing it and enjoying themselves in the area.
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casco
Feb 17, 2004, 12:31 AM
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ITESM Campus Monterrey, it´s in Mexico, Nuevo Leon.
1.How close are the nearest mountains, and how high are they? Are there any classics in the near vicinity?
Don´t know heights, but we got Cerro de la Silla, about a 4 hour climb, 14 mins to the base of the mountain, car time... We got La M, part of the Sierra Madre, a bit higher, I´d say about 6 hour climb, and Cerro las Mitras, about a 4 hour climb too, several peaks.
2.What is the closest rock climbing area to campus?
at 40 mins we got La Huasteca, at 60 mins we got El Potrero Chico, and at about 2 hours we got El Salto. La huasteca is a very good place for climbing, El Potrero Chico is one of the best places for that, and El Salto is a very beautiful place for the artistic part of climbing, lots of overhangs.
3.If there are no nearby rock climbing areas (within an hour’s drive or so), what is the nearest rock gym to campus?
There is a climbing wall INSIDE campus, beside a mountaineering club, a speleology club and climber´s club. Besides Climbing and mountaineering, there are downhill hikes, like Matacanes and Hydrofobia, which are rivers to follow, a few raps down through waterfalls. Very beautiful.
4.Is there any ice-climbing in the area?
Nope, not even snow around.
Non-rock climbing related questions:
1.What is the nearest ski resort to campus?
Nope.
2.Are there any whitewater rivers nearby (as I’m also into kayaking)? How far from campus are we talking?
Nope, nearest are in veracruz, and it´s about a 12 hour drive, i´d guess.
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sevrdhed
Feb 17, 2004, 2:41 AM
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What... no U of Utah? If you just accidentally missed that (and I'm sure you did, since everything about Utah is great, and we have everything you asked for (even the kayaking!)) then let me know, 'cause I've got all sorts of info.. being a college-age utah climber myself! (please don't assume I'm actually GOING to college though, since school would interfere with my climbing)
Steve
P.S. Mormon chicks are reeeaaallly hot!
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smellyhippie
Feb 17, 2004, 3:11 AM
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I'm interested in U of U as well...right now I'm trying to decide between there and Colorado State.
Nate
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builttospill
Feb 17, 2004, 10:00 AM
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In reply to: What... no U of Utah?
I attend BYU at the moment.....I know all about the hotness of mormon girls. Still planning on transferring, and salt lake city, from my experience, does not really fit me socially speaking. I'll still consider it though, as I've had countless people recommend it.
Thanks a lot to both Casco and Helmut.
Question for Casco.....what is the rest of the nuevo leon area like? I probably wont' end up there cause I'm a political science major (considering an emphasis on american politics....which might not work well in Mexico). But let me know abuot the city and what not.....I'll see what I can find on my end.....mgiht be worth a look.
Thanks again.
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swohletz
Feb 18, 2004, 8:31 PM
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Wow you have quite the selection....Boulder wow what a climbing mecca. That's all I can say about Boulder. If you live anywhere in Colorado, there's definitely good climbing to be found...the springs has abundant climbing nearby as well.
I currently live in Arizona, and I can say there's plenty of good stuff to be found here. Some of the better stuff is up north, but there's plenty near Pheonix (don't know about the Tucson area). I've been climbing at least weekly since I've been there and have yet to be disappointed. Have you looked at NAU or Prescott College??? If you want more info about AZ climbing feel free to PM me
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builttospill
Feb 21, 2004, 2:20 AM
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How are NAU's academics? I like the look of their cross country program (one of my primary concerns.....much more important than climbing areas).
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unrooted
Feb 23, 2004, 2:22 AM
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Salt lake city, and provo are very different, just stay away from Logan, this place is a shit hole (socially) like provo.
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sevrdhed
Feb 23, 2004, 5:58 AM
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Yeah, SLC is a LOT different than provo. You can find a lot of non-mormons here, while still keeping the selection of super hot mormon chicks. And if you're going to go into political science with the intent to go to law school... the U has one of the best law schools in the country. Plus, we're the moutain west conference champs in football! Go Utes!
Steve
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builttospill
Feb 25, 2004, 1:36 AM
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Haha, yeah, I'm keeping my distance from the logan area.....WAY too cold for me.
Alright, I am actually going to consider the University of Utah now.....do you guys know if they accept very many transfer applicants for winter/spring semester??? Its too late now to apply to transfer for fall.
Let me know.
Oh yeah, I've never been to the U's campus....I see on maps that it backs up to a lot of green space (I'm assuming the Wasatch mtns)....are there any decent trails back there to run on (the longer the trail the better.....like 5-10 miles??)? Thanks.
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escale
Feb 25, 2004, 3:59 AM
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South of Santa Fe in the Sandia’s you can be launching on 80’ to 1200’ of trad granite. The Sandias top out at 10,600’. We are kind of isolated here; there is lots of development going on in new areas. I’ll be exploring new areas this season just for something different.
There is a rock gym in town near campus called Santa Fe Climbing gym, but I understand it went under and has just reopened under new management.
There is white water rafting and kayaking up north near Taos, There is an organization that offers white water group rafting, but I think the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon would be much more fun.
There is skiing just outside of Santa Fe or Taos ( 1 hr north). There must be about 6 resorts north that are open. The big weekend ski trips from here are to Durango or Wolf Creek in southern Colorado.
Here are other forums from people traveling to or from areas, within 2hrs of Santa Fe:
Bouldering near Santa Fe,
http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42179
Here is a guide to El Rito north of Santa Fe by 45 minutes
http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23539
From Santa Fe, there is Diablo Canyon, White Rock, Las Conchas near Los Alamos, and a whole bunch of short sport areas up north.
Here is climbing in Albuquerque November 50 miles south of Santa Fe:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18730
In the summer it gets so warm in Albuquerque have to leave the city and seek the coolness of the mountains up north. Lately in summer I’ve been cruising to southern and central Colorado, but I know they must snowed in this time of year. I'm sure die hard climbers are still pulling stone. Ice climbing in Ouray is the topic every winter and I think it is about 3 hr away and Colorado is a beautiful place to snow ski as they get more snow than we do.
Check out New Mexico as a climbing region and the areas near Santa Fe if you are interested. I am still trying to update the route database here to make it more informative.
---Escale
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unrooted
Feb 25, 2004, 6:38 PM
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There are quite a few good trails, I wish I was going there instead.
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pdwaugy
Mar 1, 2004, 6:40 PM
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I am gonna suggest the University of Wyoming. You will be 15 minuets from vedauwoo http://www.jharp.net/vedauwoo.htm you are also only a couple of hours from Sinks Canyon and Wild Iris, and Jackson Hole. But also in going ot UW you are only 45 minuets from Ft. Collins, and I do believe an hour or so from Boulder. So going to the University of Wyoming not only puts you near some of the best climbing in Wyoming but also Colorado as well. I hope this helped you out.
Waugy
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nealric
Mar 1, 2004, 7:31 PM
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Registered: Feb 21, 2004
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Im at colorado college :)
Lots of good climbing here:
garden of the gods- pro a bit sketchy, decent bouldering- only 10min away for a quick climbing fix
ute pass: awesome bouldering- 15min away
shelf road: favorite sport crag EVER: 1 hr away
11 mile canyon: enough trad to occupy for a while: 1hr away
misc south platte domes: trad, for that epic experience you can do the big rock candy mountain (over 10 pitches of very run out 5.10-5.12 slab :twisted: )
castlewood canyon: good sport/boutldering- about 45min.
we have our own climbing wall on campus (you can work as a route setter for $ for climbing gear :)
skiing:
slightly weaker then perhaps boulder.
breckenridge: 1:45 (driving fast w/out snow on road)
keystone/abasin 2:00
vail: 2:45
beaver creek: 3:00
I guess it kinda sucks having to get up at 6:00 to be on time for the lifts- but its well worth it.
As far as the education:
In my opinion its the best of the list. The profs are great (and very flexible). Classes are tiny (my last class was 6 people- and im a freshman). Great academic resoruces.
Probably the best thing about CC for the climber is the block plan. We do one class at a time for 3.5 weeks and then get a 4 day break. Last break I went to hueco :D. If you have ap credits, ect - you can afford a block off. I had some friends do a 4 week roadtrip to red rocks, j-tree, and yosemite- try doing that at any other school.
Finnaly- we have a pretty good climbing community. If you ever want a parnter- you can stop by the climbing gym and someones bound to be lookin for a partner.
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builttospill
Mar 3, 2004, 8:36 AM
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pdwaugy: Are there any good skiing areas near U of Wyoming?
nealric: Thanks for the info. Earlier this winter I was really leaning toward Colorado College, but I'm not so sure anymore. I'm just making sure to check out ALL my options so I make sure not to make a mistake again. Are there any smaller ski resorts closer than those you listed? Also, how snowy is it in actual Colorado Springs? I'm planning to run cross country for their team if I go there, and I know one of my problems with the weather here in Utah was that all the trails are covered in snow from november/december until april/may, so it kind of sucks. I've heard it is actually fairly mild in the Springs (not the mountains though)....let me know.
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nealric
Mar 9, 2004, 7:28 AM
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In reply to: nealric: Thanks for the info. Earlier this winter I was really leaning toward Colorado College, but I'm not so sure anymore. I'm just making sure to check out ALL my options so I make sure not to make a mistake again. Are there any smaller ski resorts closer than those you listed? Also, how snowy is it in actual Colorado Springs? I'm planning to run cross country for their team if I go there, and I know one of my problems with the weather here in Utah was that all the trails are covered in snow from november/december until april/may, so it kind of sucks. I've heard it is actually fairly mild in the Springs (not the mountains though)....let me know.
Smaller resorts:
There used to be a resort on pikes peak back in the 80s- its 15min away. Ive heard you can do backcountry there. There is also supposed to be backcountry on pikes peak.
Ive heard rumors of the broadmoor hotel starting a small hill in the springs- and I do see what looks like runs on cheyanne mountain- but never checked up on the rumor.
Eldora mountain is a tad closer (maybe 1:30)
Problem is- the season pass (vail,keystone,abasin,breck,beaver) makes it so you only go there (its $320 for all those).
the springs is pretty mild. The x country team never has a problem running in the winter. We will get a big storm every 2 weels or so for a day or two- but by the third day its 60degrees and everything is melted.
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builttospill
Mar 11, 2004, 1:53 AM
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Thanks for all the info, both of you guys.
nealric: do you know guys on the xc team?
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nealric
Mar 23, 2004, 7:57 AM
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I know one guy on xc and another who sprints.
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